I have been plagued by a sickness as of late. A kind of blood marking. This curse stalks me in both waking life and the world of dream. The relics no longer sing to me of power, they scream to me of hunger and the ruins call out like needy children for blood, oh, so much more blood! Now that I am aware of their ancient existence, they will not remain silent! What was - at first - revitalising, is now a torment. I can’t, no matter how hard I try, clean the blood from my face and hands. Nobody ever sees the red, but for me, yet this does not mean it doesn’t exist! I purchased three Karui slaves from the marketplace the other morning. Strapping young lads of seventeen. At the blood site in the ancient ruins, they pleaded with me. Something about the place, the corruption engrained in the stonework… it spoke to them, and they knew. The powers demand blood, so I gave it to them. I opened the throats of those Karui lads and poured out their essence onto Atziri’s altar. As the sanguine liquid was sucked up by the stone, my mind frayed and I saw the Queen herself, naked and aroused, bathing in a pool of blood while her hand reached between her thighs. I… I can’t shake her image from my mind, even now as I lay on my bed, I shiver with fear and anticipation. I have never felt lust for a woman in this magnitude. I fear the Queen shall be the death of me. When I close my eyes I see her, reaching out to embrace me. - Templar Davaro

Research Journal 3

Tags